Action Ideas and Sales Strategies for Technology Business Executives and Sales Professionals
Sales Strategy of the Month:
Eliminate ‘LOW HANGING FRUIT SYNDROME’
The President of a small software development firm recently told me “Business is so good that we barely have time to look for new opportunities.” (I knew something was wrong!). Practically all of his business is coming from referrals – and the numbers are up slightly from last year at this time. Sounds good, right? Wrong. He went on to say that this is not the breakthrough year he had expected. This man and his sales organization are showing early-stage symptoms of ‘Low Hanging Fruit Syndrome’.
Low Hanging Fruit Syndrome is typically found in salespeople and selling organizations who over-indulge in ‘networking’ (which like anything else is safe with normal consumption). Their over-indulgence in networking results in an extraordinary number of referrals. These tempting referrals are the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’ — the easy pickings at the bottom of the tree. The Low Hanging Fruit is so abundant that it consumes all of the salesperson’s time. Low Hanging Fruit Syndrome blocks salespeople from developing and executing against strategic sales plans. It prevents selling organizations and their salespeople from targeting and prospecting for larger and more profitable business opportunities.
This insidious disease lulls salespeople in to a false sense of security. It makes them think that they no longer have to work hard at sales. Worse, it makes them think that they are actually working smart at sales. The facts are that Low Hanging Fruit Syndrome stifles sales innovation, and severely limits the potential of selling organizations and salespeople. The late-stage symptoms of this disease are disillusioned investors, shareholders, and executives…not to mention unemployed sales managers and salespeople.
If you or your salespeople are over-networking, I urge you to recognize the problem and resolve to stop immediately! The first step in solving any problem is admitting that you have one. Take a few deep breaths. Everything is going to be OK…
…Now you have time to work that strategic sales plan you’ve been talking about.
Sales Book of the Month: SELLING TO VITO
Selling to VITO is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. There are only two kinds of buyers we encounter – VITO and SEYMOUR. V.I.T.O. stands for Very Important Top Officer. Only VITO has veto authority. And there is only one VITO in your prospect organization. Everyone else is SEYMOUR (pronounced See-More). SEYMOUR wants to see more. He wants to see more proposals, see more demos, see more pricing, see more references…
Sales Resource of the Month: WEBINAR SOLUTIONS
Any smart sales manager or salesperson will ask themselves “How do I get in front of as many qualified prospects at a time, in the shortest amount of time?” The answer is usually a seminar or a trade show. The problem with seminars and trade shows is that they are expensive, and they require a lot of logistical preparation. They are also risky. Poor attendance or a quiet booth means a huge waste of time and money. Done right of course, seminars and trade shows are worth the investment.
Today I offer you another solution…’WEBINARS’. Webinars are web-based seminars. Here’s how they work. You promote your weekly or monthly webinar through normal means of seminar promotion: direct mail, email, banner ads, etc. Attendees dial an 800 number which you have pre-arranged through a company like MCI or Sprint. The attendees are in listen only mode. As the host, you kick off the webinar by thanking everyone for joining and you direct them to a URL on the web. They type in the URL and start watching you present! That’s right…you are driving what they see. First you guide them through a Powerpoint presentation (they don’t even have to touch the keyboard!), and then a real-time product presentation. You can even poll the audience, have them keyboard/mouse respond to a question, and then instantly display the results of the poll. You can even incorporate streaming video.
Webinars are pipeline builders. Host one today! Need to learn more, visit Placeware http://www.placeware.com/ One of my clients recently kicked off a monthly webinar for a high-end software product and the results have been great. They have more attendees than their regular seminars, and it costs less – so they can do it every month. PeopleComm is not affiliated with Placeware, nor do we benefit from any purchases made from their company.
Regards,
Steven
How To Get In Touch:
Steven Morgan, President
PeopleComm, Inc.
Long Island Technology Center
3500 Sunrise Highway, Suite D200
Great River, NY 11739
phone: 631-592-5950 x.100
e-mail: stevenm@peoplecomm.net
website: http://www.peoplecomm.net
